News Round-Up: Cast Updates for Cinderella, Interstellar, Taken 3, & Her; The Hunger Games Coming to Comic-Con and More

In our inaugural News Round-Up, I’ve got a few pieces of casting news involving Cinderella, Interstellar, Taken 3, and Her. Also, I’ve got some release date updates involving an untitled Marvel movie and Cinderella. Lastly, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and I, Frankenstein announced some exciting Comic-Con info and William Fitchner confirmed his role in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Read on, friends!

Casting

Starting with Cinderella, Helena Bonham Carter (The King’s Speech) will be playing the iconic fairy godmother in the live-action Disney feature. She joins Richard Madden (HBO’s Game of Thrones), Lily James (BBC’s Downton Abbey), and Cate Blanchett (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey). You can find all of our Cinderella coverage here. Sir Kenneth Branagh’s (Thor) film will release in the future (read on for more).

For those pinning for more Taken goodness, you’re in luck. Liam Neeson will be returning to the franchise to the tune of $20 million (take that in real quick…). Taken 3 has a working script but no director yet. Neeson will likely be joined by Maggie Grace and Famke Janssen, although nothing is official yet. (Source: Deadline)

Lastly, Scarlett Johansson (The Avengers) joined Spike Jonze’s (Where the Wild Things Are) Her. This is bad news for Samantha Morton and her fans because it appears Johansson replaced her. The film will release November 20, and Johansson will actually be more of a voice since she’ll be playing an Operating System (you read that right). (Source: Vulture)

Release Dates

With Marvel’s mentality of releasing two movies a year, they (and Disney) have announced an untitled Marvel film sometime in 2016. This will be part of their “Phase 3” with “Phase 2” underway already. This adds to the dates announced earlier.

Also, Cinderella will open March 13, 2015 – a few months after we’d initially projected. (Source: Collider)

Other

For Comic-Con goers, Lionsgate has announced that their upcoming films The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and I, Frankenstein will have panels next month in San Diego. Both these panels will be on Saturday (which is shaping up to be a popular day). Specific talent wasn’t announced, but Catching Fire fans can expect an exclusive trailer! (Source: IGN)

Finally, William Fichtner (Crash) was previously added to the Michael Bay-produced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but nobody knew his role. Turns out he will be Shredder, the main villain of the iconic series. The remake (starring Megan Fox and Will Arnett), directed by Jonathan Liebesman (Wrath of the Titans), will release June 6, 2014. (Source: Huffington Post Canada)

Jordan, who currently resides in Seattle, WA, has slowly become a film fanatic over the past couple of years. He attributes his love for film to the smash hit THE DARK KNIGHT which has created an (un)healthy obsession with both Christopher Nolan and the Batman franchise. Although he appreciates all genres of film, his favorite movies are typically psychological thrillers, with an emphasis on non-traditional narratives.